Theresa May is set to authorise the creation of a rapid response unit to stop fake news spreading online.

The team, which will be based in the Cabinet Office, will be tasked with monitoring social media to identify and challenge disinformation. It follows a slew of false stories that were distributed on the internet even after they were shown to be false, many of which were damaging to the Conservative Party, the government or both.

The new unit will set itself the ambitious target of seeking to “reclaim a fact-based public debate”, according to Alex Aiken, executive director of the Government Communication Service (GCS).

London - capital of United Kingdom - is in the middle of the map below.

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London, United Kingdom

United Kingdom (GB) is estimated to have a population of 65.1 million with a growth rate during 2010-2015 of 0.6% pa.At the same rate of change, in five years' time its population will increase by 2 million.